Independent preparation for the SQA Higher Applications of Mathematics exam. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Qualifications Scotland (SQA).

What is in Higher Applications of Maths: the course content

Higher Applications of Maths is assessed by a question paper (2 hours 5 minutes, 65 marks, scaled to 80) sat on a computer with spreadsheet and statistical software, and a statistical project worth 30 marks. Questions are set in real-life contexts and ask you to interpret results, assess risk and justify decisions.

Weeks before your first paper

Hours a week for maths

Topic 1: Mathematical modelling and spreadsheets

Topic 2: Probability and statistical literacy

Topic 3: Correlation, regression and hypothesis tests

Topic 4: Interest and the time value of money

Topic 5: Credit, savings, insurance, tax and inflation

Topic 6: Planning and decision making

26 weeks, 104 hours in all

Start with Topic 1

Mathematical modelling and spreadsheets: 24 of your hours. It is 5 of the 40 questions on our timed checks, 25%.

Hours per topic
Topic	Your hours	Share of the checks
Topic 1: Mathematical modelling and spreadsheets	24	25%
Topic 4: Interest and the time value of money	19.2	20%
Topic 2: Probability and statistical literacy	14.4	15%
Topic 5: Credit, savings, insurance, tax and inflation	14.4	15%
Topic 6: Planning and decision making	14.4	15%
Topic 3: Correlation, regression and hypothesis tests	9.6	10%

Week by week

Week 1Section 1: Mathematical modelling and spreadsheets
Week 2Section 1: Mathematical modelling and spreadsheets
Week 3Section 1: Mathematical modelling and spreadsheets
Week 4Section 1: Mathematical modelling and spreadsheets
Week 5Section 1: Mathematical modelling and spreadsheets
Week 6Section 1: Mathematical modelling and spreadsheets
Week 7Section 4: Interest and the time value of money
Week 8Section 4: Interest and the time value of money
Week 9Section 4: Interest and the time value of money
Week 10Section 4: Interest and the time value of money
Week 11Section 4: Interest and the time value of money, Section 2: Probability and statistical literacy
Week 12Section 2: Probability and statistical literacy
Week 13Section 2: Probability and statistical literacy
Week 14Section 2: Probability and statistical literacy
Week 15Section 2: Probability and statistical literacy, Section 5: Credit, savings, insurance, tax and inflation
Week 16Section 5: Credit, savings, insurance, tax and inflation
Week 17Section 5: Credit, savings, insurance, tax and inflation
Week 18Section 5: Credit, savings, insurance, tax and inflation
Week 19Section 6: Planning and decision making
Week 20Section 6: Planning and decision making
Week 21Section 6: Planning and decision making
Week 22Section 6: Planning and decision making, Section 3: Correlation, regression and hypothesis tests
Week 23Section 3: Correlation, regression and hypothesis tests
Week 24Section 3: Correlation, regression and hypothesis tests
Week 25A timed check and two paper-style questions, then review every lost mark
Week 26A timed check and two paper-style questions, then review every lost mark

Check your topics with the free test

Question paper	2 hours 5 minutes, 65 marks scaled to 80, on a computer with spreadsheet and statistical software
Project	A statistical report, 30 marks, about 8 hours
Total	110 marks, graded A to D
Exam day 2027	Monday 26 April, 13:00 to 15:05

The six sections of this course

1 Mathematical modelling and spreadsheets: building and testing models, units, error and tolerance, and spreadsheet formulae and functions.
2 Probability and statistical literacy: tree and Venn diagrams, types of data and sampling, statistical diagrams, the shape of a distribution, and the mean, standard deviation, median and interquartile range.
3 Correlation, regression and hypothesis tests: scatter plots and correlation, linear regression and prediction, hypothesis tests, confidence intervals, t-tests and z-tests for two proportions.

How the marks are shared

Across the question paper, roughly 15 to 35% of the marks are on mathematical modelling, 10 to 25% on statistics, 30 to 45% on finance and 10 to 25% on planning and decision making. The project assesses statistical skills: analysing data with statistical software and reporting what it shows.

Try 2 questions

Question 1Calculator or spreadsheet

The masses of eight bags in grams: 498.2, 503.9, 491.8, 507.5, 495.0, 508.1, 501.3 and 493.0.
Bag	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Mass (g)	498.2	503.9	491.8	507.5	495.0	508.1	501.3	493.0

A machine fills bags of flour labelled 500 g. A bag is within tolerance if its mass is within 1.5% of 500 g, limits included. The table shows the masses of eight bags. How many of these bags are outside the tolerance?

Question 2Calculator or spreadsheet

Three savings accounts. Account A: effective rate 4.2% per year. Account B: effective rate 0.35% per month. Account C: effective rate 2.1% per half year.
Account	Effective rate of interest
A	4.2% per year
B	0.35% per month
C	2.1% per half year

Three savings accounts pay interest as shown in the table. Given that

1.0035^{12}

= 1.042818

and

1.021^{2}

= 1.042441

, which account has the highest effective annual rate of interest?

Next step

Take the free test Take the course tour

Questions people ask

Is there coursework in Higher Applications of Maths?

Yes. A project worth 30 marks: a statistical report on a research question, completed in about 8 hours and marked externally. The question paper is worth 80 of the 110 marks after scaling.

Do I use a computer in the exam?

Yes. The question paper is sat on a computer without internet access, with spreadsheet and statistical software and files supplied with the paper. Some answers are produced with the software and printed.

Is this the same as Higher Maths?

No. Applications of Mathematics is a separate Higher focused on modelling, statistics, finance and planning in real-life contexts. We have a separate course for Higher Mathematics.